About the Program

"The UCSC Science Communication Program has set a high bar for training standards and the highest level of quality in science journalism."

—from a 2013 external review of the program

Do you enjoy explaining your work, and science in general, to non-scientist friends more than you like working in the lab?

The women and men who popularize science enjoy a career that satisfies their intellectual restlessness. They report on science trends, discoveries, personalities, and policies, often from the lab or in the field. Science writers choose from myriad career options: online or print journalism; staff writing at university news offices, federal agencies, national labs, museums, and zoos; and multimedia work on the Internet and in radio.

The science writing program at UC Santa Cruz has produced professional science writers since 1981. The program is one academic year long, focusing entirely on practical training through rigorous coursework and diverse internships. It's the only graduate science writing program in the U.S. that requires a degree in science and experience in research.

Our alumni, more than 350 strong, work as reporters and editors at the nation's top science magazines, online news services, research agencies, universities, and medical centers. About half of our graduates freelance, mainly to live where they wish and to cover the science that captivates them.

The Science Communication Program has received generous support for scholarships and instruction from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Hearst Foundations, the Heising-Simons Foundation, the David and Dana Loury Foundation, Roche Molecular Diagnostics, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Helen and Will Webster Foundation and numerous private donors.